Randomized trial demonstrates altered breathing control in healthy and chronic lung disease models, suggesting therapeutic pathways.
Key Points
The aim is to investigate how stimulation of Npy2r+ pulmonary vagal sensory neurons affects breathing in both healthy and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) mice.
Mice exposed to 90% O2 to induce BPD-like lung damage or room air as a control.
Breathing recorded using spirometry and whole-body plethysmography during optogenetic and chemogenetic stimulation.
Cre-dependent constructs used to selectively stimulate Npy2r+ sensory neurons.
HX lung tissue showed a 128% increase in mean linear intercept compared to NX, confirming BPD-like changes.
Optogenetic stimulation led to a 21% decrease in frequency and a 70% reduction in tidal volume for NX and HX mice.
Chemogenetic stimulation indicated a 60% decrease in minute ventilation, driven by different mechanisms in NX and HX mice.